When the late Ratan Tata was described as an ‘ideal person’ by former flame Simi Garewal: ‘He’s much more…’

Sharing a moment to her social media handles from her wildly popular 2001 talk show, Rendezvous with Simi Garewal — the episode in which she had Tata over for an insightful sit-down chat — Simi simply wrote, “They say you have gone ..It’s so hard to bear your loss..too hard.. Farewell my friend..#ratantata”. Over the years, Simi has maintained a deeply personal and poised aura and her farewell to her old friend reflects the same. That being, said, Simi’s relationship with Tata, for a moment in time, was beyond just being friends. The two were romantically involved for a short duration of time. Now though the romance may not have spanned years, their connection was rather palpable — so much so that several reports peg them as having been considering marriage with one another. While that did not materialise, in a rare reference to Tata in an old interview, she had called him an “ideal person”. “Ratan and I have known each other for many years. He’s an ideal person—humorous, humble, and the epitome of a gentleman. Money was never a priority for him. He’s much more at ease when he’s abroad than when he’s in India”, she had shared.

Now was he her ideal person? That is a question only the both of them can answer. Simi eventually moved on, marrying Ravi Mohan — from the Delhi’s well-established Chunnamal family — in 1970. Their marriage lasted for about a decade before the two decided to part ways. Simi never remarried. Tata on the other hand, never entered matrimony with anyone at all. By his own admittance, he came close to being tied in marriage exactly 4 times in his life. It was him who backed off in each instance.

May he rest in peace.